The silence that followed the massacre at Devil's Throat was more terrifying than the screams. Where an army of ten thousand had marched, only a desolate wasteland remained. The trees were charred black, and the ground was stained a deep, unnatural crimson that refused to wash away with the rain.
Shen Yuan stood at the center of the devastation, holding a glowing, pulsating orb—the Gold-Core of General Zhao Feng.
"Master," Ye Lin approached, her robes untouched by blood, though her aura was vibrating with the sheer amount of Yin energy she had absorbed during the battle. "The survivors of the 300 Shadow Soldiers have all broken through to the Foundation realm. The array... it worked perfectly."
"It was a crude feast," Shen Yuan replied, his eyes fixed on the Core in his hand. "But it served its purpose."
He crushed the Core.
Normally, a Core shattering would cause an explosion that could level a mountain. But Shen Yuan's hand acted like a vacuum. He forced the raw, violent energy into his own body, using the [Forbidden Art: Core-Shattering Fusion].
His veins glowed golden, then turned a bruised purple as his Void Qi devoured the General's life work. His cultivation base stabilized at the Half-Step Core Formation stage. He was now a monster that defied the logic of the heavens—a man with the power of a Core, but without the restrictions of one.
"Fan," Shen Yuan called out.
Ye Fan emerged from the shadows, carrying the General's massive war-hammer. The weapon was cracked, its golden light extinguished.
"Take this hammer," Shen Yuan commanded. "Wrap it in the banners of the Iron-Blood Legion. Find the fastest messenger among the prisoners we kept. Tell him to run to the Capital. He is to deliver this to the Empress's feet."
"And the message, Master?" Ye Fan asked.
Shen Yuan looked toward the North, his gaze piercing through the clouds toward the distant Imperial Palace.
"Tell her: The servant she killed has returned as the Master she fears. The throne is cold. I am coming to warm it with her blood."
The Imperial Capital – Three Days Later
The Hall of Supreme Harmony was filled with the most powerful men and women in the Empire. Dukes, Sect Leaders, and Generals stood in fearful silence as a messenger, half-mad and smelling of death, collapsed on the jade floor.
He dropped a bundle. The General's hammer rolled across the floor, stopping at the base of the Empress's throne.
Ling Xian stared at the weapon. Her face remained a mask of marble-like perfection, but those closest to her saw the slight tremor in her fingers.
"General Zhao Feng is... dead?" a Duke whispered, his voice cracking. "Ten thousand men... gone in a single afternoon? By a rogue sect of 'trash'?"
"It is him," Ling Xian said, her voice a low, dangerous hiss that made the air in the hall turn to ice. "He has returned. And he is using the Forbidden Gates."
"Your Majesty, we must send the remaining Two Generals! We must mobilize the Dragon Guard!" an advisor shouted.
"No," Ling Xian stood up, her golden robes billowing. "The Dragon Guard will not be enough. If he has mastered the Fourth Gate, your soldiers are merely food for his cultivation."
She turned to her High Priest. "Open the Ancient Vault. Bring me the Heavenly Key. If Shen Yuan wants a war, I will give him one that will burn this continent to the bedrock. I will summon the Ancestors of the Sun."
Heaven's Reach City – The Eternal Void Sect
While the Empire panicked, Shen Yuan was not idle. He sat atop the bone throne in his new inner sanctum. Around him, the 300 Shadow Soldiers knelt in perfect, terrifying silence.
"The Empress will not move yet," Shen Yuan told his disciples. "She is afraid. She will try to summon the spirits of the past. That is exactly what I want."
He looked at the Star-Iron Shard, which was now three times its original size.
"When she opens the Heavenly Vault, the barrier between worlds will thin. That is when I will take back my Sovereign Soul Fragment. Prepare the Sect. We are not just defending a city anymore. We are marching on the Heavens."